skip to main content

HCPSS / NEWS

Barriers to Belonging Survey

November 19th, 2025

The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) values a culture of belonging by striving for a welcoming, safe, affirming, and supportive environment for all. Bullying, the use of slurs, and other forms of hate or bias are direct barriers to achieving inclusiveness and belonging.

A climate assessment of middle and high school students and staff is being conducted to better understand their experiences in our schools as it relates to race or skin color, national origin, and shared ancestry.

Schools will administer the online survey from Dec. 10-19. Survey results will help guide HCPSS’ work to ensure all students are treated with dignity and are active partners in creating safe, healthy, and supportive classrooms and schools with their peers.

The survey will be anonymous, and available in English and Spanish. The survey questions may be found below. Please note that no personally-identifying information will be collected and only HCPSS staff leading this work will have access to the response form.

Participation in the survey is not required. If you do not want your child to take the Barriers to Belonging survey, please complete this online opt-out form by Dec. 5. If you have more than one child in middle or high school, please complete an opt-out form for each child. Students also may decline to take the survey when it is administered.

If you have any questions, please contact your school’s principal, or email HCPSS Director of High Schools Dr. Jeffrey Fink or Director of Middle Schools Laurie Namey.

Survey Questions

Staff and students will be provided a link to complete the survey. Questions below are for informational purposes only.

Staff and Student Questions

  1. What is your school?
  2. For the most part, how supportive are the adults in your school to the students?
  3. For the most part, how kind are students to one another in your school?
  4. In general, how welcoming are staff in this school to people of various shared ancestries and ethnic backgrounds?
  5. In general, how welcoming are students in this school to people of various shared ancestries and ethnic backgrounds?
  6. Since the beginning of the school year, how often have you seen or heard someone being mean, unfair, or treated badly at this school because of their:
    1. Skin color or race?
    2. Family’s home country or where they came from (like national origin)?
    3. Shared ancestry or ethnic background (like Arab, Chin, Jewish ancestry,
      or another background)?
  7. Since the beginning of the school year, how often has someone been mean, unfair, or treated you badly at this school because of your:
    1. Skin color or race?
    2. Family’s home country or where they came from (like national origin)?
    3. Shared ancestry or ethnic background (like Arab, Chin, Jewish ancestry,
      or another background)?
  8. Do you know how to report incidents of discrimination and harassment you witness or experience at school?
  9. If you have reported incidents of discrimination and harassment before, did the incidents stop after you reported it?
  10. What is your role in this school?

Student-Only Questions

  1. If discrimination and harassment occurred to you in school, which of the following strategies would be helpful to you?
    1. If you selected “Other” above, what strategies would be helpful to you if discrimination or harassment occurred to you in school?
  2. What are some things happening in your school that help you feel belonging?
    1. If you selected “Other,” please describe what helps you feel belonging in school, and/or what you would like to see happen in school to help you feel belonging.
  3. What is your current grade?

Staff-Only Questions

  1. If discrimination and harassment occurred to you in school, which of the following actions did you do?
    1. If you selected “Other,” please describe what helps you feel belonging in school, and/or what would be helpful to you if discrimination or harassment occurred to you in school.
  2. What are some things happening in your school that help you feel belonging?
    1. If you selected “Other,” please describe what helps you feel belonging in school, and/or what you would like to see happen in school to help you feel belonging.
  3. How many years have you worked in HCPSS?